Jason Marquis faces Chris Young in today's series finale at Citi Field.

NEW YORK — The Nationals would love to win today's game against the Mets and earn their first series victory of the young season. They'll have to do it, though, without the Face of the Franchise.

Ryan Zimmerman is not in today's lineup. Not sure yet whether he's just getting a day off, or whether he might have injured himself sliding headfirst into second base last night. Zimmerman appeared to jam his left hand when he advanced in the top of the third inning. He was briefly looked at by a trainer but stayed in the game and actually picked up another hit two innings later.

With Zim sidelined, Jayson Werth gets bumped down to the No. 3 slot for the first time this season. Rick Ankiel bumps up to the 2-hole, and Danny Espinosa (who homered last night) hits sixth.

Jason Marquis gets the start against New York's Chris Young. Plenty of updates to come…

If Zimmerman is out of the lineup for any reason, then Ramos should ALWAYS be in. A 7-8-9 of Pudge, Cora and the pitcher is the same as conceding the game. Actually, today with Marquis the pitcher is the best hitter of those three.

Another blow to this fragile line-up. WaPo is reporting that Zimmerman's hand is injured. I hated the Alberto Gonzalez trade when it happened and it's looking worse all the time.I'm having a hard time keeping any realistic optimism about our Nats. I'm afraid this series is a preview of a heated race between these two teams to see who winds up in the cellar.Hope they surprise me.

Ladson says Zim has an abdominal strain. Probably aggravated the spring training injury with the slide into second last night. Agree that Ramos HAS to be in the lineup. Pudge is becoming a double play machine. On the upside Willie Harris is playing for the Mets, so they've got one hand tied behind their back before they even begin.

This is the most important week of the young season. The Nats are 3-5 today. What will the record be by the end of next Sunday. Mets today, Phillies and then the Brewers with our old pal Nyjer Morgan taunting us from right field. Impossible would be 9-5, Delerious would be 8-6; Very pleased would 7-7, Grateful would be 6-8, Dispondent would be 4-9, and blow up the team and start all over again would be 3-10. I am sure Rizzo is lighting candels and saying Hail Marys that the Nats can get through this week in reasonable shape. It's time for the veterans to suck it up and prove that they still belong in the game.

raymitten: Not only is Willie Harris in the lineup for the Mets, but he's batting second! This is very good news for the Nats. (I like Willie's persona, but he just can't hit major league pitching with any consistency.)

When is the end of the 10 day alternating day experiment? Aren't we near enough for common sense needs to prevail with Zimmerman out of the lineup? Also, with Marquis on the mound Pudge's game management abilities aren't needed as much as with a younger pitcher on the mound.Let Pudge catch J. Zimm to help him grow, and throw him a few games here and there. Wilson can handle the rest.Big game today, and Riggs is trotting out a lineup that doesn't give optimal opportunity to win. Hopefully the Mets will try harder to find a way to lose than the Nats.

Anon @104p – Shoulda seen the scoreboard last night. Before Morse got his late-game hit, he was batting cleanup and hitting .091!By the way, if anyone watched last night's disaster on MASN, I'm told I made the broadcast – the Nats fan showing off the Curly W shirt in the montage before the 7th inning.

MLB extra innings has given us the NY tv all weekend, they think everyone in Fl. comes from NY. Anyway, they showed Riggleman with his arm on Marquis shoulder talking to him after the 1st inning. Marqis looked very upset, starring at the wall initially but slowly developing a look that he knew things were going to be ok. The talked sure worked.The announcers also called Reyes out and then showed every angle to prove their point.

Espinosa seems suited to bat in either Mets or Rays lineup. He strikes out at a scary pace. He should have drove in one run at least in the second inning. Similarly, I am not too eager to evaluate a pitcher's performance against either the Mets or Rays lineup. Either lineup have potential to get no-hit one day and score more than ten runs the next day. But Marquis has recovered nicely from that first inning. Also let us not forget how last year our starters would explode in one or two innings. I am glad that has not happened yet. Then again we will face tougher lineups in the next two series.

The negative comments are now bordering on the absurd. Espinosa is batting over 300, is over 500 in slugging, and has a 370 on base average and FS is complaining that he strikes out at a scary pace. Geeze! I think he might also be leading the team in RBI's.

Another bad call….Per the Mets crew.Duda was out! His leg was in the air when the tag was applied. Of course this ump had the keyhole strike zone Friday.We better start making our own breaks, the umps are not going to help us.

This is probably just confirmation bias, but does anyone else feel we seem to have an abundance of blown calls going in favor of the Mets every season? I feel like every series against them has a ton of BLOWN calls. Not just close stuff going to them, but straight up obvious shit too. I can't believe how bad some of these calls have been.

@Grandstander – Oh yes. The umps almost seem biased against the Nats this series.Just now a ball was called for strike 3…frustrating, but there's absolutely nothing the team can do about it. These umps are terrible.

Carpenter and FP are all over the umps.At least we aren't alone in this. @Anon 3:18 – yeah seriously. I've noticed this trend as well. Something has to be done. Are umpires ever suspended by MLB? If not, they should be.

The reason for the negative comments is quite simple. The problems the team has had pretty much for 5 seasons are the same problems we have seen in the first 9 games. Nothing has changed. Faces change, but same problems occur, and people would like a change for a change. As Dr. Phil says best predictor of future events is to look at past events.People want to positive, but hard to get that way the way the team plays.I always assume the team is going to win until they lose the game. Then I get bitterly disappointed (more so I am afraid then the team is as I ponder why things are not improving.)

I was hopeful when they put the umps under Joe Torre's office they might show a bit more consistency across the board. Wrong !At least the home plate ump just gave us,Gaudin the same pitch as a strike.

Mark Z. – Just a random question. Given what happened at Dodger stadium on opening day (the assault), I was wondering if you have ever noticed that type of scary activity at any of the games/ballparks you've attended.

Cwj: While I've certainly seen some boorish behavior and a few violent acts by fans, I've never seen anything close to what apparently happened at Dodger Stadium. Not sure anyone has ever seen something that ghastly at a ballpark before.

What may be Bob Carpenter's best, if most understated, line of the season (in the bottom of the 7th): "The umpiring has been very suspect this weekend."BTW where are all you Mikey Morse clamorers these days? (top of the 8th).

CWJ it is better to a point yes I agree. My concern for the most part is the hitting and fielding.RISP last year stunk and is worse this year. They have scored 3 run despite going 1 for 7 RISP.Also a perfect example of very poor coaching 2 consecutive walks, and Morse swings at a ball not near the strike zone on the first pitch, and strikes out on the same pitch 2 pitches later. Coaches remind you all the time not to swing after to bases on balls in a row. They do from Little League to major leagues. So obviously Eckstein if he is coaching it is not respected enough by his players to be listened to. Either way, it same problem as last year as team.

Morse is pressing but Werth seems to be pressing even more. Our starting pitching this year has been much improved but some key hitters have yet to come around. It is early but I did hope for a decent start this year.

Feel Wood….I have to call you out on your Chris Young comment. Rizzo had a slightly better offer on the table and Young decided to take Alderson's offer instead. The Mets pretty much guaranteed Young the 5th spot while we only offered to give him a shot at it.

lucretius,calm down. The winning hit was a ground ball slightly to the left of the 2nd baseman where anyone other than Daniel Murphy has a shot for a double play. I love that we won but let's relax with the HOF comments because we all know that pudge is not that anymore.We won a game with 0 contribution for Werth, Zim and very little from Morse; that actually bodes well because all of them will produce. I am concerned about LaRoche because I am not sure were we go for plan B.

Awesome win!Wow, the bullpen is red hot.Marquis is really pitching well.,What's kinda cool is that this bullpen could be even better, if any of the lesser guys struggle there are some good arms in the minors or DLClippard, Storen and Burnett absolutely dominate the late innings, so there's really no worry about who is actually the closer. All three of them are the "closer".Just a few of my thoughts

jd, pudge's single was a hard hit ball, it was totally legit, so was his double. listen, i know pudge isn't what he was but i get tired of people on this blog ripping riggleman for every decision he makes.

lucretius…..Riggleman was pretty much a genius all day today. From running LaRoche and Morse early to avoid a double play opportunity for the Mets, to using J. Zimm to lay down the sac bunt to running Ramos (he runs great for a cather) and inserting Nix.But the haters won't give him credit. Not today….not ever.

There is only one reason the Nats won today….current baseball mentality. Young was pitching a teriffic one hit game through seven innings. Then baseball mentality took over. 'Let's not allow him to "hurt" his arm. We don't want him to get too tired. Even though he is eraning millions a year let's take him out and give other pitchers a chance to lose the game'. Well, it worked. The Mets lost and I'm happy for that. We were handed a game due to baseball mentality. GO NATS!! Unfortunately we are going to give up lots of games just like that.

lucretius, When you say that the Pudge's double was legit you are absolutely right; it landed in right center and no one caught it. Nats Jack, I am not a hater; I defended Riggllman throughout last year and you are right the moves you mention were very good (other than the Ramos pinch run as he was the last remaining non pitcher left). My criticisms of him are that he takes his starters out too soon (this was not the case today where Marquis was taken out when he was begining to lose his command) and that he over manages. My last point is that you should not judge moves based on results alone and this is exactly what people do; you can make a great move and have it blow up in your face and you can make a dumb move and have it work.

A win is a win. Team stayed tough, and the Nets bullpen which has been weak most of the season, didn't do the job. I had this team winning 76 at the beginning, and will stay there as the clutch hitting is to inconsistent to be much better. If it improves than they can win more.

Been around BB since the 1940s–can't understand some of the negative comments. You have a brand new team–after the game Nix on MLB said they are still getting to know each other. Considering that hardly anybody playing regularly was around last year, they are putting it together pretty fast, it seems. Many bright spots–everyone on the team can be expected to produce. PS Watched Nyjer strike out with the bases loaded last night.

Njack,He had a good day….I like the running game and the small ball….I remember being at a ST lunch and having Acta belittle a fan question about playing small ball……Riggs pull all the right strings today….My view is he is still a losing manager from way back. He has no fire and as the vets get traded this summer, Porter is a much better choice to hold the younger guys accountable…..we shall see….oh and like I have been saying for over 3 months now…..this team will win more than they lose this year….because of talent and fundamentals….I have never seen so many good bunts from Nationals in a whole season as we have seen this week.

Wow, what a great comeback victory today. Its nice to see different guys contributing to a win so we don't have to depend only on Zimmerman and Werth to provide all the offense. As for Riggleman, I have no problems with his management style. He did great today and I think for the most part he has done well given the talent he has had to work with.Go Nats!!!

@ Jeeves, I agree my analysis of Danny was a little premature and negative but he does seem to strikeout whenever I follow his at bats. Maybe I should stop watching him hit, because otherwise he is getting on base at a good rate and might as well push Desmond to #2 spot (if either Ryan, Adam or both start missing games). He just needs to prove himself on the basepaths.Anyways, I will take a win in any form against Mets. I still think we are better than the Mets and should finish so in the standings at the end of the season too. CBS are really doing their job as relievers. If only Broderick could perform like he showed he could in ST, we would not need to worry about bullpen. It is also good to see our starters six and more innings. It is the hitters that really need to start producing.

Regarding Chris Young….if he pitched at Nationals Park today, Morse would have hit a home run instead of a warning track shot…The fact that Citi Field is a HUGE pitchers park may have been the reason why Young chose to sign with the Mets…That field helped him look like Cy Young today…

@ JayB – Great point on the bunting. That was one of the most excruciatingly frustrating things the past few season and I can't recall a flawed bunt so far this season. Watching JZimm come into the game today and just dropping that perfect bunt was my personal highlight of the day.

JayB, Why is it so important for Riggleman to have or to show "fire"? Did Walter Alston ever show any "fire" when he managed the Dodgers all those years? Did you consider Joe Torre as a manager who demonstrated a lot of "fire"?If this team wins as many games as you seem to think they are capable (I believe you have thrown oit 81 or 82 wins this year), why in heaven's name do you want to get rid of the manager who would have taken them from 59 wins to 81 or 82 in just 2 years? You make no sense to me.

Knoxville Nat wrote:"Why is it so important for Riggleman to have or to show "fire"? Did Walter Alston ever show any "fire" when he managed the Dodgers all those years? Did you consider Joe Torre as a manager who demonstrated a lot of "fire"?"Good point — thanks for making it. There's more than one way to motivate players. That goes for baseball (see above), for basketball (compare, say, Dean Smith and Coach K vs Bobby Knight), for football (Parcells vs Tony Dungy), etc etc. We don't know the personalities of the players, we don't know what goes on in the locker room, or behind closed doors. Looking like you're about to burst a blood vessel is not the only way to motivate players and/or hold them accountable.

Glad to see others come to Riggs defense. I see an intense manager who backs his players both on the field and in the press. Like DC Wonk says, we have no idea what is going on in the locker room but the early quotes from players seems like this team likes each other and is getting closer each day. Pudge also gets crushed here and yet he is constantly upbeat and positive and helps in little ways that we will never know.I also question what JayB means by "fire"? What do you want us to see, a pep talk every inning? Lots of hand clapping? I am not a psychologist but there are times the camera is on Riggs and I see lots of fire in his eyes. bottom line is people on this blog need a whipping boy and replacing Millege, Morgan, Guzman etc is a Hall of Fame Catcher and a veteran manager. Go figure.We are 4-5, pitching has been better than hoped for and while we now have some serious injuries to deal with and some poor hitting we are going into a key series with the first place team in our division with our heads up. I love it.Go Nats!!

To me "Fire" is a passion to win every game you play. "Fire" is doing everything you can every game to win. That means putting the best line up on the field and using the best players. Riggs manages like a little league manager who worries about vet feelings and making sure everyone is happy with their playing time. Sitting your starting infield on the 4th game so your vets feel good is stupid. Riggs is a find AAA manager but their is a good reason why he has always lost, has the highest losing % in baseball (Acta is there too with less games) and works so cheap….no other team wanted him or will want him…..sorry but that is the way it is.

Catching up with comments after the fact, interesting to see many of my own in-the-moment reactions to the game were voiced here already. Agree with JayB and Grandstander re. the improved bunting, which I'd been commenting on to my husband. Also agree re. the Morse at-bat with the bases loaded. Not a good one (which I said to my tv set at the time, um, in a slightly different manner). Generally speaking, hope that they'll improve on hitting with RISP. Nice to see another win in extra innings. Seems to me that we've lost those more often than won in years past.

Sitting Desmond in game four when he was what, 0 for 16 or something like that is stupid? Keeping your bench sharp after most of them had not had a plate appearance in over a week is stupid? I suppose if he were to bench Michael Morse and his sub .200 batting avearge right now against Halladay or Oswalt you would probably say that was stupid as well. With two off days in the first week of the season I have no trouble with this move. As for "fire" representing "a passion to win every game you play", all I can say to you sir is Jim Riggleman wants to win as much as anyone I've ever met. And as for your comment about Riggleman's losing record do a little homework and research and check out the rosters of those clubs he has managed in the past. Check out just how bad the talent was in San Diego where he inherited a last place team with a losing culture and an owner who was determined to trade away all of his established veterans (Tony Gwynn being the exception)for prospects. Check out how he managed to get the Cubs into the playoffs and also had another season with a winning record. Check out how many injuries he had to work around with his front line players, especially pitchers in his five years in Chicago. Check out how Mark Grace and Shawon Dunston both to this day claim Riggleman was the best manager they ever played for. Check out how he took over a last place dysfunctional Seattle Mariners team in mid season only to lead them to a better record in the half season he had them, a record that allowed the Mariners to post a better won/loss record than the 2008 Nationals thereby giving the Nats the first pick to draft Strasburg in 2009. Yes JayB Riggleman's record doesn't look good on the surface, but dig beneath and find out just what he has done with the limited resources he has ben given to work with. If the Nationals should somehow find themselves at .500 at the end of the season, Riggleman deserves serious consideration for manager of the year.